


Chained Memories

by Ethereal_Wishes



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Cursed Storybrooke, F/M, Mental Breakdown, Mental Health Issues, Mental Institutions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-21
Updated: 2016-08-21
Packaged: 2018-08-10 05:24:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,954
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7832095
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ethereal_Wishes/pseuds/Ethereal_Wishes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Belle and Rumpelstiltskin wed while living in the Enchanted Forest. The curse sweeps them away to Storybrooke where Belle struggles with two sets of memories. Mr. Gold believes his wife's delusions are the result of amenesia from a car accident. She tries to tell him the truth multiple times about their true origins, but the curse prevents him from remembering anything. Belle struggles with getting her husband to remember who he truly is without losing her mind. Dr. Whale attempts to persuade Gold into institutionlizing her, but his deep love and devotion for her prevents him from doing it. As Belle sinks further and further into her delusions, he's faced with a very difficult decision which could cost him everything, including the woman he loves.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Chained Memories

Chained Memories: Part One

A/AN: This is going to be a verse fic. You can prompt me in the reviews if there's something you would like to see. This is going to be a bit angst driven. This is a "What if" scenario about Belle being present during the first curse and remembering her true life. Belle struggles with two sets of memories just like Jefferson did in S1. I hope everyone enjoys and please do review! I do enjoy reading them! 

Belle stood by the window watching an ominous cloud of purple smoke descend rapidly upon them. She and Rumplestiltskin had wed three months prior, but their wedded bliss was short lived once she learned a curse was coming. Just a couple of hours ago, she was curled up on the settee, engrossed in one of her favorite novels until he'd alerted her of the current happenings. The curse had already swallowed up the other occupants of the Enchanted Forest, and they would be the last. He'd told her it was the only way he'd ever see his son again. She understood his reasoning, but it still seemed like a high price to pay concerning everyone elses livelihood was at stake. Belle refused to be angry, choosing to cling to her husband during their final moments before it all slipped away.

"Rumple, I'm afraid!" his wife confessed in a quivering voice.

"Don't worry my dear, when you wake up you won't remember a thing. I'll be right beside you, and in twenty-eight years the curse will be broken. There's no need to be afraid," he crooned in his velvety brogue, making her shiver. She clung to him, clenching her eyes shut as the purple smog engulfed them. She felt her vision wane as she welcomed the darkness.

~X~

Belle felt as if she'd just awoken from a deep slumber when she heard the distinct buzzing of the alarm clock. She groaned, turning over to meet the deep sable eyes of her husband. She gasped, noticing his scaly features had disappeared and had been replaced by the clean shaven face of a handsome man. She reached up, sweeping her fingers over his jawline, full of wonder.

"My sweet Isabelle, I don't believe you've looked at me like that since our wedding day," he chuckled, leaning in to kiss her good morning. Her heart leaped within her chest at the mention of their nuptials just three months prior.

"It was just three months ago. Surely, I've looked at you like that since then," she chortled, but the moment perished as she watched his countenance fall.

"Oh sweetheart, we've been married for nearly five years. I hope this isn't another one of those after "shocks" from the car accident," he sighed, turning over to switch off the alarm.

"Car wreck? Rumple, I've never been in a car wreck," she countered as fabricated memories from Regina's curse clouded her cognition. She hadn't realized how much her head hurt until two sets of memories began warring against each other. It was almost too much for her mind to take as she tried to sort through the distorted disarray of madness.

She gnashed her teeth, grabbing her head in agony as the memories continued to assault her, vying for control. Belle fought back the stave of fake memories, fighting to keep her true ones intact.

"I'm calling Dr. Whale. I think you're having another attack!" he panicked, reaching for the phone off the nightstand.

"Yes, Dr. Whale, this is, Mr. Gold. I need an ambulance here quick! I believe Isabelle is relapsing! Please hurry!" he rasped before slamming it down on the receiver.

"It's okay sweetheart. Help is on the way," he cooed, placing a hand on her feverish brow as she drifted into unconscious.

~X~

Belle opened her eyes to be assaulted by the bright fluorescents. She clenched her eyes shut, trying to drown out the excessive beeping emitting from her heart monitor. She groaned in pain when she tried to move her arm, discovering it was attached to a string of wires.

"Rumple..." she rasped, the overwhelming need for water eclipsing her senses. She felt relief wash over her when she felt her husband's familiar hand grasp hers.

"I'm here sweetheart. Everything's going to be all right,"he assured her in his soothing brogue, but she could sense a deep brokenness behind it.

"Water," she replied, pointing to her throat. He nodded, immediately handing her a pink plastic cup full of tap water. She grabbed the cup, guzzling down the contents. She sighed in relief, the cooling liquid a balm to her raw throat.

"Where am I?" she inquired, scanning the room. The room was large and spacious with a sickening yellow floral wallpaper that made her feel nauseous. Dark green tiles with white flecks floating in them surrounded her, giving off the illusion of murky water filled with fish. She closed her eyes, picturing the walls of the dark castle.

"Isabelle?' she heard him call out to her, bringing her back to reality. When she opened her eyes, she was greeted by the jaundice wallpaper with ugly flowers. Tears cascaded down her cheeks once she realized where she really was.

Regina had cast the curse, bringing them to the land without magic. They would be trapped here for the next twenty-eight years until the savior came to break the curse. She turned to her distraught husband who she realized didn't remember anything. She clenched and unclenched her fists, inhaling deeply. If he didn't remember then she would make him.

"How did we meet?" she tested, awaiting his response.

He gave her a look of bemuse, clearing his throat. "We met six years ago when you started working for me. You became my housekeeper to help out with your father's debts," he answered. She mulled over his response. It was similar to how he procured her for a deal to save her kingdom from the ogres, but she was sure he wouldn't buy that.

"Okay, when did you realize you were in love with me?" she dared, biting her tongue until she could taste the tang of iron. She watched as a thoughtful expression formed on his features. He smiled tenderly at her, grasping her hand in his.

He brushed his fingers over her knuckles lightly, formulating his response."It was when you chipped my favorite cup." Belle latched onto his statement, scouring her mind for the false memory. Her subconscious conjured up the image of her dropping the cup back in the Dark Castle, but it also inserted a fake memory of her dropping a china cup on his kitchen floor after making tea. The imagery was so strong that it tried to swallow the authentic memory, but Belle wouldn't let it.

"You were making my afternoon tea when you accidentally dropped the cup on the floor. You gazed up at me with tear dimmed eyes. My heart wrenched to see you like that. You looked so distraught, and I just couldn't be mad at you. In that moment, I reached for the teacup and our hands brushed. I found myself gazing into your curious blue irises, and I felt something foreign stir inside me. I didn't want to admit to myself that I loved you, but I couldn't fight my feelings for you any longer. I knew I wanted to be with you," he continued with an amorous look in his ocher depths.

Belle didn't have time to respond or dwell on the looks of longing her husband was giving her because there was a knock at the door. She looked up to see Dr. Whale approaching her, clipboard in hand.

"How are you feeling, Mrs. Gold?" the ginger haired doctor inquired. Belle averted her gaze at the foreign moniker. Mrs. Gold? Then she realized that was what she went by here. People didn't have last names in the Enchanted Forest except for dignified monarchs, and she'd given hers up when she married Rumplestiltskin. She chuckled to herself at being called Belle 'Dark One', but remembered where she really was when the doctor cleared his throat awkwardly.

The Enchanted Forest was no more and her "old life" had been thrown into oblivion. She was Belle Gold here, wife of the notorious pawnbroker, land owner, and lawyer, Mr. Gold. That's what her cursed memories told her anyway.

"I'm fine doctor," Belle assured him with a polite smile.

"Excellent...Well if you don't mind Mrs. Gold, I'm going to have a word with your husband out in the hallway, and I'll be back to brief you very soon," Dr. Whale supplied, motioning for the pawnbroker to follow him.

"Don't worry sweetheart. I'll be back in a minute,"he assured her, placing a chaste kiss against her lips. Belle nodded, wringing the bedsheets in her hands as she anxiously awaited his return. She didn't like this town nor their new life here. She wanted to go back home, but where was home?

~X~

Dr. Whale sighed heavily, leaning against the wall, placing the clipboard under his arm. Mr. Gold analyzed him with a pointed gaze. "Spill it doctor. You said that her memory would return to normal after her accident, but she keeps relapsing. It's almost like she has two sets of memories in there," he remarked in a clipped tone.

"After the accident, your wife developed a very acute case of amnesia. It was like she forgot who she was and began believing she was someone else. She was raving mad about some imp named Rumplestiltskin who made deals with desperate souls. I mean we both know you make deals, but I still don't see the resemblance between you and that fairy tale character," he chuckled dryly but stopped when he noticed Gold's humorless eyes.

"What I'm saying is that maybe you should consider putting your wife somewhere where she can get the proper care she needs,"he finished, leaving a vexed look on the other man's face.

"You mean as in institutionalize her!? There's no way I'm leaving my Isabelle in the care of you imbeciles! I'll quit my job and take care of her myself if that's what it takes! Just up her medication! That should fix her delusions," he snapped at the frazzled doctor.

"She's already taking the highest recommended dose available. I'm afraid there's nothing more I can do except write her a prescription for something that will help her sleep," Dr. Whale replied, scribbling something on his prescription pad, and handing it to Gold.

Gold snatched it out of his hand snarling irritably."Thanks for nothing! Let the nurses know we'll be checking out now," he retorted sharply, storming back into the hospital room.

"So, what did you find out?" Belle inquired, picking up on her husband's silent agitation.

"Everything's fine sweetheart. We're going to check out and take you home. The doctor wrote you a prescription for sleeping pills, so we'll pick it up on the way home but nothing has changed,"he fibbed, and Belle knew it was a coverup, but she didn't dare test him because he was already on edge.

~X~

The car ride home was spent in uncomfortable silence. Belle spent her time meditating on her cursed memories which told her that she'd been in a car accident six months ago. The effects of the trauma made her believe she was from another world. Belle almost wished she'd forgotten her old life because she realized it was only going to complicate matters, though something inside her told her to never stop fighting.

She was pulled from her disarray of thoughts when the Cadillac pulled in front of the salmon Victorian. "Why don't I make us dinner, and we can settle down for the evening?" he suggested, meeting her gaze.

"That sounds lovely,"she smiled in agreement. He took her hand, brushing his lips over her knuckles lightly. She shivered when she felt his lips against her skin, making her long for more intimacy. Rumplestiltskin had been nothing but a tender lover to her back in the Enchanted Forest, but did Mr. Gold hold the same attributes as her former husband? It was so unusual to see him walking around cloaked in human flesh. It made her feel distant from him, but perhaps this is how he looked long ago before he was cursed. Belle surmised that the curse was what made him look beastly in their other world, but she loved him nevertheless.

"Isabelle, are you coming?" Gold inquired, pointing towards the open car door.

"Yes I was just thinking," she responded making her way out of the vehicle. She didn't notice his eyes darken at her remark as they made their way up the steps.

~X~

Mr. Gold didn't consider himself a man of gourmet meals. He ate at Granny's mostly, but he did on occasion enjoy dining at home. He began taking out the supplies to make one of the simplest meals he knew how to make: spaghetti. He decided to include her in the mundane task to keep her mind off other matters. His mind kept wandering back to the doctor's suggestion, but could he really do that to his wife? Was she really that much of a hazard to herself and everyone around her?

"Here's the water Rumple," she supplied, handing him the pot of steaming hot water. Why was she so persistent on calling him that? What resemblance did he have with a fairy tale character who stole people's children and acted like a raving lunatic?

"Thank you,"he mouthed, throwing some noodles in the pot and then adding a little oil to soften them. He turned up the burner to give them time to boil. He gave her the task of stirring the noodles with a wooden spoon, making sure the water didn't boil over, and hoping she forgot about the fabricated memories her mind kept conjuring up.

He ground up the hamburger meat and cooked it until it was brown before adding in some store bought sauce. He mixed the ingredients together, then checking on Belle who was absentmindedly stirring the noodles.

"Let's see if they're ready," he interrupted gently, inwardly groaning at the thought of her mulling over more useless nonsense. She nodded moving out of the way. He carefully picked up a noodle with the wooden spoon and put it on a plate. He chopped it in half with the spoon to make sure it was tender.

"It's perfect, now let's drain the water," he instructed. Belle watched him as he pulled out a colander. He picked up the pot and poured the noodles over the sink. The water drained out causing steam to rise. He put the noodles in a bowl and placed them on a table along with the saucy hamburger meat.

"It looks delicious," she commented as he placed a bowl in front of her. She gazed at the knife and fork in front of her strangely. He noticed her disdain.

"Yes, it does. Is everything all right?" he inquired, noticing her discomfort.

"I was just wondering why we have to eat with metal utensils," she chortled, and he was surprised by this little obtrusion.

"We have some plastic ones in the drawer if you prefer those," he said dryly before putting a small amount of noodles and sauce on his plate. He took his fork and twisted some noodles around it, popping them in his mouth.

He almost dropped the fork when she pulled him forward. "Rumple, this is the most amazing thing I've ever eaten! Can we have it again?" she inquired full of childlike glee.

"Sweetheart we have spaghetti at least once a week, or did you forget that too?" he asked, and she pulled away, reluctantly letting go of his arm. She averted her gaze uncomfortably, swallowing back the bile in her throat nervously.

"This life is a fabrication made up by the curse! It isn't real!" she thundered slamming her fist down on the table before grabbing her head in agony. An agglomeration of memories arrested her subconscious making her reel in pain.

He disregarded her statement, running immediately to her aid. He pulled her out of the chair and carried her to the sofa despite the protests of his torn ligament. He clenched his jaw in pain, depositing her on the loveseat. He pulled her into his arms, rubbing her temples soothingly until the pain eased.

"It's okay sweetheart...I'm here," he muttered, attempting to relax her. She moaned softly, his touch relieving her suffering.

"I just want you to remember who you are Rumplestiltskin," she mumbled before slipping into unconsciousness.

That name...Why did she have to keep calling him that? Each time she called him that it caused an unfamiliar sensation to come over him. He knew it was foolish to believe there was any significance in it other than the fact her subconscious seemed to believe it did. He wanted to believe he could save her but maybe Dr. Whale was right. Perhaps, there was nothing he could do after all.

He shook his head, attempting to unclutter his mind. He picked up a pillow, elevating her head before tucking an afghan over her small frame. "Please don't make me do this Isabelle,"he pleaded, placing a kiss against her brow. She moaned in her sleep, and he sighed, desperately wishing he could cure her, unaware that he was the one who needed curing.

A/AN: Well there's part one...Part two will be posted soon. In the next installment Belle tries to get her husband to remember by producing a talisman that she believes will help him. Trouble ensues when she runs into Regina...


End file.
